New to this BBS - comments?

  • Thread starter Thread starter a_street
  • Start date Start date
A

a_street

New member
This has to be the coolest little BBS I've ever seen. Especially this MP3 Mixing clinic bit. I'm an artist with some stuff up at MP3, and have been home recording for quite some time. I'm currently trying to work on building up my mixing/mastering skills. The last song I completed, "Still," I felt worked really well arrangement-wise, but was missing something in the final mixdown. Presently, I have it up at my MP3.com site (http://artists.mp3s.com/artist_song/948/948343.html). This is my second attempt at a mixdown of this song, and I'm not completely happy with it. Any ideas as to what could give this song the feel I'm looking for?

- Andrew
http://www.mp3.com/andrewt
 
A very pretty song. I like the way you've recorded the vocals. As to my suggestions for what you can do to get the sound you're looking for: how the hell would I know what you're looking for? :)
As to some suggestions to get the sound I'd like to hear on this tune:
Get a more definitive bass patch and ease up on that cymbal sound; either make it more sparse or replace it with something that breaks up the constant hissing of that drum sound. Or both. Those drums sounds aren't bad. They just need a slight shift of emphasis to make them stand out.
But overall- nice job.
 
Wonderful keyboard playing and sound...yup, that bass sound could come up, the cymbals down, the kick up maybe...nice composition and a very clean recording....the vocals are great too, but maybe to my ears the "answering" backs could come up just a tad ( at 0:52 and 0:58 and elsewhere)....gibs
 
DOH! Of course....how were you to know the "feel I'm looking for..." :) Anyway, thanks for the comments. I have another mix of this that hasn't been upped anywhere yet. I basically went through and cleaned up a lot of stuff with some EQ changes, lowered the volume on the cymbals, gave the drums a bit more presence, etc, but I still don't think it's quite "there." Now the vocals feel a bit too "out front." Your suggestions will be helpful when I sit down with it again.
 
First of all, really nice song.
I hear a "Jars of Clay" influence in the overall sound and arrangement.
Great keyboard work, great vocals and harmonies.

Okay, now for the critiques... :)

The cymbals are waaaay too much over the drums. It sounds as if you used an electronic kit and real-acoustic cymbals and tracked them seperately. The fact that they're eq'd a bit too high on the upper-end makes it even more noticeable.
The bass and drums are slightly buried. They could stand to be a bit louder in the mix.
Lastly, the vocals are a smidge over the top, but that's only because the bass and drums aren't up to level.

Here's what I'd do...

Bring up the level of the bass and drums, take a bit of volume off of those cymbals... and see what you've got from there. Cut a bit off of the high-end of the cymbals if they're still cutting thru too harshly.

.....Buck
 
Very nice song. Pretty, engaging. I agree that the cymbols need less and the "answering back" vocals need a little more where they come in.

I don't think that last 5% you want is a function of the mix. I think it's the vocal performance and mic placement in the climactic parts. When you want to get most intense in the song, you've boosted the vocal gain (so it sounds a little over the top). Better to cut the gain a little (or even better, back off the mic a little), and let it out a little more (you have a fine voice so you can do it). You also might want to add a flourish of that great sounding piano. Finally, and this is a nit, I think the piano is a bit off in the quiet transitional section at about 2:55.

Great stuff though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top